The 50-year-old told us exclusively: “Thomas has gone from being nowhere near the Ryder Cup to making a late dash for the team and playing unbelievably well at Hazeltine. But then he has gone quiet since.

“He has reached a plateau and now he’s got to consolidate that elevation. Over the next 12 months, he’s got to go to all the Major Championships and play well. It’s unlikely he will go to Augusta and win. He needs to just soak up the experience and get more comfortable in his new, elevated state in the world of golf.”

However, the 25-year-old has now failed to finish inside the top 10 in any of his last six European Tour events, a statistic which McGinley believes shows a “lack of consistency”.

Nevertheless, the Irishman has seen enough to suggest Pieters can rediscover the form that delivered three top-four finishes in as many tournaments last summer, including victory at the Made In Denmark.

“He has it technically, there is no doubt about that,” said McGinley. “He is still very young but he has a very strong dynamic in his game which is good enough to win a Major Championship. But I think the next 12 months are just about taking his game to the next level. If he can get another big win along the way somewhere, that would be tremendous for him. I wouldn’t write it off.”

The two-day charity event begins with an Amateur Championship today (Saturday) and brings together stars from the world of sport and entertainment. The guest list includes cricketers Jimmy Anderson and Brian Lara, four-time Olympic gold medallist Matt Pinsent and pop legend Ronan Keating.

The celebrities will then compete in a Ryder-Cup style fourball format on Sunday (January 29), where they compete against a professional team featuring Thomas Pieters, Ian Poulter and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Michael Catling

Staff Writer

Thomas Pieters will be making his first appearance at Augusta this year.

Paul McGinley will be captaining a team of 20 professionals at the Abu Dhabi Invitational, including Thomas Pieters.